New life through the kindness of strangers

Lung transplant recipient Darren Wilcock at his work at Auckland Film Studio in Henderson. Photo / Dean Purcell

A recipient of a lung transplant says he thinks of the donor and the family who gave him a new shot at life every day.

Darren Wilcock has cystic fibrosis and received a new pair of lungs through a transplant in mid-2013.

The 47-year-old - speaking to the Weekend Herald to mark Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Day today - had stopped work in 2011 when his lungs began to fail. He was on oxygen 24/7 and struggled to walk even short distances. "I was in a really, really bad way."

He was put on the list for a transplant and nine months later, he was called to say the transplant would go ahead.

"It's an amazing feeling of elation when they call you to tell you to come to the hospital," he said.

"You think about the hundreds of people involved, the doctors, the surgeons, the organisations like Organ Donation New Zealand, and they rely on that one person and that one family to say, 'Yes - you can take the organs'."

Mr Wilcock never inquired about the sex or age of the donor, but says he thinks of them every day.

"I know it is a completely altruistic gift and that, for me, is how it can remain.

"My thoughts are obviously with the person who died but more with their family ... They consciously said 'Yes' to a doctor, so that's an incredible thing."

Mr Wilcock has described going back to work, playing on the beach and riding his bike with his 3-year-old son as a "miracle".

"I was riding along in the bicycle lane on the side of the Northwestern Motorway getting absolutely soaked and thinking, this is amazing.

"Little things like that, people need to cherish those things because they're taking life for granted."

Mr Wilcock and three other lung recipients completed the Round the Bays walk this year.

He keeps in touch with other transplant patients he has met through the years in hospital and goes to support group meetings when he can.

"You go to each other's funerals and that's pretty sad, but then you also see people doing amazing things when they're well again."

Mr Wilcock said the Western world "hides" from death. He urged people to discuss organ donation with their family and friends.

"It's one of those discussions people shouldn't be afraid of.

"You can help a lot of people out."

One organ donor could change the lives of up to 10 people, Organ Donation New Zealand said.

Mr Wilcock said he and his wife were realistic about the future - doctors haven't been able to tell him how long his new pair of lungs will keep him healthy.

"They can't guarantee I'll get one year, five years or 10 years. But every day I'm here is a day I wasn't going to get."

For today's Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Day, many cafes have been asked by organ recipients to hand out stickers saying, "Have the conversation today."

Organ Donation New Zealand's clinical director, Dr Stephen Streat, said new brochures and resources have been released to encourage families to start talking about donating.

"Death and dying are not something that people like to talk about but we hope the brochures dispel some myths that surround organ and tissue donation and encourage people to have that conversation with their loved ones."